Chicago
by splendeur
Summary: Claire Lyons is moving. Again. Just when she's scored an exclusive spot in the PC, spent a magical vacation in Aspen with her BFF, and actually started having fun in Westchester. Thanks to her dad, it's bye-bye New York and hello Illinois. Watch as she attempts to win over her new classmates all over again at Preston-Tatum Secondary Day School. Rated T for occasional language. OC
1. Reaching the Sky

**New Story! Yay! Tell me what you think. :)**

* * *

1.

Flight D7820, seat 10C (ORIG: NY, DEST: IL)

January 31st

10:15 AM

"Attention passengers! We are starting the preparation for landing. Please take your seats." The friendly pilot spoke in a faintly European accent. "We'll get you on the ground in about ten minutes."

Claire Lyons stared at the seat in front of her, still unbelievably pissed off at her father, who, to her luck, was seated right next to her. Not only had he uprooted her right in the middle of her 7th grade year, but he had also adopted the idea that it would be an _adventure_. Throughout the entire two-hour-and-fifteen-minute flight, he had tried to shove pictures of their new house, her new private school, even the dog that he planned to get Todd, her brother, in exchange for him ending his hunger strike. The hunger strike had started exactly five days ago, when Jay Lyons had broken the news of the move to his family & the Block family. Todd refused to eat anything, unless her dad changed his mind. Despite Todd's impressive promise, a promotion offer, and Claire's general declaration of hate; Jay hadn't budged.

And Claire loathed him for it. Jay Lyons had already pulled the moving trick the summer of last year, when he uprooted his family from their happy, simple life in Kissimmee, Florida, and moved them to Westchester, New York; an affluent suburb of New York. Not only was Claire deemed _out_ the minute her Keds-and-overalls outfit crossed the state line, but she was ridiculed for it. And even worse, her father had refused to sell their quant Kissimmee home, leaving the Lyons to have to stay in his new boss and old-friend's guesthouse. Needless to say, Massie Block, his fashionable & gorgeous daughter had taken an immediate disliking to Claire. It had taken Claire two months to win her over. And now, this.

Just when she was beginning to enjoy life in New York. When she was finally a member of Massie's infamous pretty committee, with a long-standing invitation to exclusive Friday-night sleepovers and carpools in the Block's chauffeured Range Rover. When she actually had friends. But it was all taken away. Because Jay had gotten a "fantastic" opportunity in freaking Chicago. Not only was it hundreds of miles away, but it was in a completely different time zone.

With a loud screech, the plane wheels found the runway of O'Hare International Airport. Claire's eyes remained on the blue tweed-looking seat in front of her.

"Hello again. The local time is 10:30 AM, 11:30 from our origin. It's snowing, what a surprise! (chuckle). We hope you've had a great flight, and look forward to seeing you again. For those that Chicago is your final destination, we ask you to remain seated as-" Claire tuned the pilot out as she looked out the window for the first time since she boarded. True to what the man said, the small window was crusted with ice, and outside; a whirlwind of white blocked even the blinking lights of carts guiding the plane to the gate. It was insane. Claire missed Westchester's biting-but-dry-cold already.

"Isn't it beautiful!" Jay Lyons cried. "It's just gorgeous, don't you think Claire?" He put a hand on her shoulder. She resisted the urge to shake it off, merely giving him a death glare. Jay continued, oblivious. "A new beginning! You won't believe the house I bought, it's got…" Claire tuned him out to, more focused on turning her phone on. As a going away present, Massie had bought her the newest iPhone, insisting that she could text her at any time. Sure enough, there was a text waiting for her.

**MASSIE:** Starbucks in the morning isn't the same L

**CLAIRE:** Chicago is so boring. Already. And cold!

She attached a quick photo of the blizzard outside to the message. A ding reverberated throughout the plane, signifying the passengers right to stand up and grab their bags. Claire sat for a second, and then reluctantly got up. Jay got her Massie-hand-me-down Tumi roller from the overhead bin, and Claire immediately led the way off the plane silently. Claire heard the squeak of wheels and tiny stampeding feet behind her, and turned to face her brother. He was averagely tall, with flaming ginger hair and a petite check-pinching type of face.

"Hey." Claire sullenly slowed down.

"Will you cover for me?" Her ten-year-old brother squeaked. "I've got ten Twix bars that I swiped from first class. I want to eat a couple before we go."

"Yeah sure."

"Great!" Claire watched as her brother darted towards the smoking area in the airport. How he could eat (or breathe!) in the room astounded her. With a sigh, she turned back to watch the plane's passengers spill into the gate area. Quickly, Claire spotted her mother, mouth fixed into a hard line, trailed by a energetic Jay.

"It's going to be so great, you see, and this! Look! Snow!" Jay was practically shouted. Claire contemplated if she could dash into the ladies room before anyone made the connection that they were kin. "Isn't it great?"

"Hi honey." Judi Lyons's normally blue eyes were clouded with exhaustion. "Doing alright?"

"Yeah." Claire murmured, watching her father run to the window, pressing his palms flat as he stared at the blizzard.

"Good. Where's Todd?" Judi glanced around.

"Bathroom." Claire felt a tap on her shoulder. There stood her brother, waving at their mom. Except for the tiniest bit of chocolate in the corner of his mouth, there were no clues that he'd been eating. Her Mom appraised him, and opened her mouth to talk.

"Guys! No time to waste! None!" Jay sprung up behind them. "Let's get our bags and go!" Claire looked at him like he was insane, and then remembered herself and looked at the floor as Jay began half-walking-half-running towards the giant sign that proclaimed 'Baggage Claim'.

_Day 1. Chicago sucks._

* * *

**You know what to do :)**


	2. Flying Brothers

2.

O'Hare International Airport

January 31st

10:45 AM

As soon as her family reached the baggage claim area, Claire pushed the handle down on her suitcase and flipped it over. As gracefully as she could, she lowered herself down onto the nylon and pulled her phone out. One new message.

**Massie: No way! Hope u brought a coat for freezing weather!**

Claire was midway into typing a response when her phone was primly snatched from her grasp. Claire looked up, eye-to-eye with her grumpy-looking dad.

"You've been on this thing way too much!" Jay Lyons threw his hands up into the air, almost upsetting the red Elmer Fudd-esque hunting cap on his head. "And what happened to our no-phone until sixteen rule? What about appreciating the cool air? What about appreciating all of this awesome snow? Huh?"

"In case you've forgotten, I don't want to be here." Claire responded cooly, headed towards Todd, who was trying to (unsuccessfully) pull one of their bags off the silver track. The sentence had broken her vow of silence, but it was oh-so-worth it.

"Where's Dad?" Todd piped, after watching Claire pull the black fabric monstrosity off the claim.

"Over there with mom. He just took my phone."

"Why?" Claire didn't answer. Her eyes were fixated on a group of boys several feet away, who were cracking up and smiling. All of them seemed about her age, maybe 14, and were incredibly cute. Maybe even Cam Fisher cute. Especially the one with the ah-dorable floppy gold hair reminiscent of Derrington back in Westchester.

"Claire?" Todd tugged on her sleeve. "Claire!" His voice took on a high whining tone/

"What?" Claire snapped, breaking her gaze to look down at her brother. When he didn't respond, Claire continued to look appreciatively in the guys's direction. They were all grasping long black-gray bags, presumably filled with skis, and wearing heavy down Spyder & Marmot jackets. Claire looked down at her old light-warmth navy fleece, and wondered if she had made an error. Chicago couldn't be that cold could it?

"Claire! Leaving!" Judi called across the terminal, earning a sigh from both Claire and Todd. Claire because she had to stop checking out the ah-dorable ski-guys, and Todd because well... he was Todd. Claire started across the terminal space, headed straight out the double doors leading outside; falling in step with Todd & her father.

As soon as her face hit the freezing, unforgiving blizzard, Claire knew for a fact she had erred on the side of too-little warmth. Her skin felt like it would never feel the sun again, and her brand-new black-uggs were no use. It felt like she was barefoot & practically naked, in the mercy of the great storm.

"O'er here!" Jay waved gallantly from a black Escalade a few feet away. Claire had no choice but to follow him.

"Wait for me!" Todd squeaked from behind Claire. She turned around just in time to see him get bowled over by a gust of wind. He landed in a giant pile of white snow.

"Todd!" Claire yelled, stifling a giggle. "You okay?" She started towards her kid brother, but before she could get there, a boy came behind him and scooped him up to his feet.

"You okay?" Claire could hear the figure call over the howling wind, once she was in range.

"Yes!" Todd said indigently. "I could have gotten up by myself you know."

"Sure." The boy chuckled. He shielded his eyes and looked around. "Where's your family."

"I'm his sister." Claire insisted, slinking in to their conversation.

"Great. Hey, I'm Zach." The boy extended a hand. "I think I saw you earlier. In the baggage claim?"

Claire's face burned, realizing that it was the boy with the cute floppy hair. "Yeah, probably."

"Guessing you're new here?" Zach chuckled, looking at Claire. "Don't see many locals getting blown over by crazy winds, even if they are under seventy pounds."

"Hey! Seventy-six!"

Claire ignored her brother. "Yeah, just moved here from New York."

"Cool. You living in the city or?" Zach paused. Claire almost forgot to answer. She wanted to gaze into his deep blue eyes forever.

"Suburbs. I think our house is in Big Lake."

"Hey! Same!" Zach held his hand up for a high-five. Claire slapped it, finally almost feeling good about the move. "You going private or public?"

"Private. Preston-Tatum Secondary Day School. Seventh grade?"

"Same! PTSD is great." Zach repeated, smiling endearingly. "Well, gotta go, but see you around Claire. You too Todd. Stay steady!"

"Not if I see you first." Todd grumbled, crossing his arms against the wind and turning around.

"Bye." Claire called after his back, smiling like an idiot. Suddenly, Chicago didn't seem too bad. Not bad at all.

* * *

Big Lake, Illinois; Interstate 34

January 31st

11:30 AM

"Are you sure you didn't miss the exit?"

"Yes I'm sure! I'm so sure I'm sure! Really really sure!" Jay Lyons insisted, his voice rising and falling insanely.

"Is he on something?" Claire asked her brother out of the side of her mouth, still watching her parents bicker.

"Prob-ly." Todd sighed, to engrossed in his gameboy to converse.

"Ah hah!" Jay took one hand off the wheel and pointed towards a green sign. "Big Lake! So I do know where I'm going!"

"Forgive me honey, but since you're in a brand new gigantic car and in this god-forsaken place you've never been before, I thought-"

"Yeah, where did you get this car, dad?" Todd shut his gameboy. "What happened to our Taurus?"

"It's gone!" Jay wiggled in his seat. "Don't you just love this car Claire? Isn't it even better than the Range Rover?"

"I guess." Claire said flatly. She didn't want to be reminded of Westchester. Or know how her father had managed to buy a eighty-thousand dollar car. She wanted two more minutes of normalcy before being told they were now part of a cult. Or a drug-smuggling ring. Anything was possible with _this_ version of her father.

After about five minutes of silence, Jay turned onto a winding two-lane street. The snow was letting up a bit, a storm rather than a blizzard, and Claire could see quant high-end shops lining the streets. She counted many Westchester-staples, Prada, LV, Godiva (not that anyone actually ate chocolate) and the ever-loved-by-alicia-riviera Ralph Lauren. The whole town was blanketed in a layer of icy-white powder, and hardly anyone was out on the road. Of the cars that _were _actually out, Claire could tell Big Lake could be Westchester's sister town. Mercedes', Bentley's, Porsche's, the occasional Ferrari and other high-end cars occupied the perfect stone streets. There was only one group of people walking down the street, and Claire picked out their parkas immediately. All designer.

This town was not going to be easy to win over. Not only did it seem smaller & ten-times more elite than the part of Westchester she had operated in, but it seemed elite. Like you had to make a six-digit salary to be let in, let alone buy or rent a house.

Not that she had actually laid eyes on a house yet. Every turn Jay made seemed to bring more and more distance between the houses and the street. Minus snow, she might have actually been able to catch a glimpse, such as a marble fountain, or an elegantly shaped sconce light. But instead, she just got wonderful views of brick mailboxes and guarded wrought-iron gates. Claire was sure that her father had probably bought a shanty on the edge of the town, or worse, dug up a new friend so they could live in his guesthouse. _Gawd Forbid._

* * *

**You guys know what to do! Sorry this took forever to update. I had to completely re-write this chapter!**

**Anyways, go ahead and vote on the poll at my profile for your favorite story of mine, and be sure to check out some of my other fabulous stories :)**

**xx,**

**splendeur**

**(extra brownie points for you if you go and check out Five Kingdoms of the Dead, by my extremely loyal reviewer _Ailes du Neige_. It's a great story about mythical sirens and such *smiley face* )**


	3. The Lyons Estate

3.

429 Jack Pine Drive; Big Lake, Illinois

January 31st

10:50 AM

"No way." Todd's voice barely registered in Claire's mind. She was too focused on slyly uncovering her phone from her father's carry-on, where he had tossed it carelessly. Just as her fingers landed on the smooth glass screen, Todd smacked her thigh. "Look!"

"What?" Claire hissed, not hesitating to smack him back. Their parents were out of the car, doing who knows what, and it could be her only chance to retrieve her iPhone from the bag without suspicion. And finally give her brother what he deserved.

"The house!" Todd's blue eyes were as big as saucers, staring straight out of the windshield. Claire craned her neck to look.

"What?" Claire returned to the carry-on, attempting to free her phone from underneath a heavy ground coffee bag. "I can't see anything."

Todd smacked her again, this time on her arm. "Yes. You. Can!"

Claire abandoned her search, knowing it was futile, and squinted her eyes, trying to see through the snow and the dark green hedge that surrounded the property. Movement caught her eye, and she watched as a gorgeous wrought-iron gate split in half, beckoning Claire's eyes to gaze upon what was within. An enormous, wide, red-brick mansion was set far back on the property, only accessible via a long circle-drive past a wide pond and a green wide enough to play a game of tag with a hundred people. Not easily fooled, Claire scanned the property for a guesthouse. There was no way this could be the Lyons estate.

The opening of the car door shook Claire out of her stupor. Her father and mother jumped in, merrily shaking snow out of their hair.

"Oh, Jay!" Her mother cried. "I didn't expect it to be so wonderful!"

"It's pretty great, isn't it?" Claire's father started the car, easing it past the gate, which closed immediately after the car passed. "You see, the sensors aren't installed yet on this car, so we'll be manually opening it for a bit." Jay paused. "Of course, not us, Jacques will."

"Who the hell is Jacques?" Claire asked in wonder, watching they passed a five-car garage to the left. "Is this really_our_ house?"

"Yep!" He beamed. "Four-two-nine Jack Pine, ours!"

"No way." Todd's mouth hung open. "Impossible!" He leaned towards Claire conspiratorially. "This is bigger than Massie's estate!"

"I know." Claire mouthed, still in shock. As soon as the car rolled to a stop in front of the wide double-doors, two figures eased their way out. They were both wearing fitted black pants, and long black button downs. Following Jay's lead, Claire stepped out of the car, welcomed by the two bright smiles.

"Miss Lyons, this way." One of them beckoned towards the door, which he opened, releasing a gust of warm air that Claire couldn't resist. The light steps behind her ensured that Todd had followed her lead.

"Would you like a tour, or to go right upstairs?" The thirty-or-so-year-old man asked, flashing a white smile. "I'm Derrick. Derrick Harrington." Claire almost laughed in his face. Derrick Harrington? Another Derrington? What were the odds?

"I'd like to see my room!" Todd piped up, mirroring Claire's thoughts. Claire agreed with a nod.

"Very well!" Derrick smiled, turning and leading the way across the foyer, headed for a hall just off of it. Claire and Todd followed close behind, gawking at the lush furnishings and general richness of the place. Claire was sure it was a dream, so she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could before she woke up in a dilapidated shack on the edge of town.

The footman lead them up a wide set of dark-wood and tan carpeted stairs, inviting them to an open second floor. Hallways branched off the main hall every two dozen feet or so, sure to confuse Claire for months ahead. At the very end of the hall, another small hallway continued straight, branching into a small expanse of space at the end, two doors standing on opposite sides, separated by about ten feet.

"Miss Claire on the left, Mister Todd on the right." Derrington bowed, and turned, leaving the siblings alone. Todd wasted no time, grasping the black door handle with sweaty hands, pushing the dark wood door just enough to side in. Claire stood still, looking at the mahogany door with slight unease. Last she remembered, she was supposed to be protesting this move. What if she fell in love with her room? It would totally undermine everything. Not that Zach hadn't come close.

In the end, it took Claire about .7 seconds to throw her protest out and sling the door open, walking into the dream bedroom she never knew she wanted. Like Massie's room back in Westchester, the brick walls were painted white, but the similarities stopped there. Instead of being modern, chic, and all white, Claire's new bedroom was more about comfort. On the wall across from the door, four oversized picture windows stood with thick white wood frames, giving her a wondrous look at the dancing and spinning flakes outside. Surely, in better weather, they would showcase the entire estate's backyard.

On the wall to the left of the windows, a wide white-framed canopy bed stood, covered with a light, pale blue silk sheet artfully draped across the top, matching the bedspread and pillows. A matching sky blue rug nearly covered the dark wood floors. The floors were the same color as the overly-wide dark coffee table in the center of the room, surrounded by five white beanbags, presumably for seating. Claire glanced at the wall beside her bed again, discovering two white doors she had skipped over before. The one closest to the windows was her gray-marble bathroom, complete with a mirrored vanity and a wide jet tub facing a flat screen television. The other door led to her walk-in, which, miraculously, already had all of her clothes hanging. Claire had never been much of a fashion person, even after Massie happened, but this closet inspired her to fill it to the brim with ridiculously expensive items.

Maybe she could go shopping today. Gawd knew, if they could afford this house, she could finally buy everything she wanted. Maybe not everything, but close.

* * *

The Kitchen

January 31st

8:00 PM

"Thanks Frieda." Claire took the grilled cheese sandwich with greed. No longer just white bread with a piece of kraft half-heartedly melted in-between, the sandwich was artisan, made with imported French Baguettes, italian cheddar and apple-wood smoked bacon. The cook quickly delivered a steaming bowl of tomato soup, tempting Claire to extremes. Anyone on a diet wouldn't last a day in this house.

"You are welcome." The petite frizzy-haired red head smiled, and then darted back into the kitchen to make a salad for Judy.

"So Claire, what did you get today?" Judy asked, looking at Claire with a slight unexplained pissed-off look in her eyes.

"Clothes." Claire's voice was muffled with a bite of grilled cheese.

"What kind of Clothes?"

"Like, what? Clothes Clothes?" Claire giggled.

"Your father told me you went to lots of designer stores." Judy said sternly.

"Yeah, I asked him about it and he said yes." Claire attempted to sound sweet. "Don't worry. I didn't overspend."

"No matter. So you're prepared for tomorrow?"

"Ye- Wait, what's tomorrow?" She was utterly confused.

"School?" Judy accepted a wedge salad and gave a nod in Frieda's direction. "Preston-Tatum Secondary Day starts tomorrow."

"Oh, right." Claire's stomach dropped. She had forgotten.

"So the shopping excursion wasn't for back to school? Because, you know we do have a lot more money, and can afford it, but I do not want you being spoi-"

"Yes! It was." Claire sighed, feeling exasperated. "Believe me. I'm ready."

If only she actually felt ready. If PTSD was anything like OCD, well... she was no where near prepared. At all.

* * *

**You know what to do! :) This was beta'd by the wonderful xxthesunsmilesxx. **

**Do you guys want Zach to be free, or paired with the alpha of the school? Obviously the latter would mean more drama, and we all love that :) **


	4. Heiress

4.

429 Jack Pine Drive; Big Lake, Illinois

February 1st

7:45 AM

_Bring. Brrring. Brrrrrring. Brrring. Bring. _

_Brrrrrrrrring. _

_Beep. Beeeeeeeep. Beep. _

_Brrriiiiiiiiiiiing. _

"Ugghhh." Claire reached for her alarm clock, stretching her arm out into thin air. She reached out in the direction of her old-fashioned yellow alarm clock, sliding her body further and further until- thump. Her body flipped over the side, sliding out of the slippery silk sheets and onto the threaded cashm- threaded cashmere rug? What? Claire shook her head. She glanced up at her side table, finding the worn pine gone, and replaced by a modern mahogany and marble alternative, topped by a silver and white iHome, which was emitting the gawd-awful noise.

It took Claire a good five minutes to shut off the noise, having trouble seeing in the nearly dark room. The long curtains that draped across her new picture windows (she suddenly remembered where she was), proved to –yes- be truly blackout coverings. She crossed the room cautiously, half-blind, and yanked one silvery-blue velvet curtain back. A thick sparkling beam of sunlight flew across Claire's face, leaving her blind for yet another ten seconds. When her eyes adjusted, she crept closer to the window, narrowing her cerulean eyes. What was before almost undecipherable, her new estate shown in perfect view. Dusted in a thick glitter of fallen snow, the redbrick buildings to the right and the left showed perfect turn of the century architecture and beautiful black accents. Too excited to breathe, Claire raced down the sundry of hallways and the wide back lacquered stairs into the kitchen. The look at her house filled her with such joy! She was finally one of _them_, Massie and Dylan; even Alicia! Judi was there, along with Jay. Todd was nowhere to be seen.

"Emagawd! It's beautiful!" Claire slid into a padded chair next to her father. "I just saw it!"

"Saw what, dear?" Judy chuckled, whilst attempting to use a fancy black china teacup correctly, the way she had seen Kendra do millions of times. The problem was: Judy, born and raised in Kissimmee, Florida; hadn't had the access to finishing schools (or china, in that matter) that Kendra Block had experienced daily throughout her childhood. So, unfortunately, she had never learned this silly habit of sticking your pinkie finger out, or even how many of her fingers through the lithe hole.

"The house?" Claire oozed duh. "I'm so lucky I don't gain calories!" She bragged, as she reached for a stack of chocolate-chip pancakes. The surge of sudden clarity had heightened her appetite and rapidly enlarged her ego. And who wouldn't like _either_ of those?

"Be careful sweetie, you know…" Judi sighed, and gave up. "I'm having a fitness instructor over starting today. I'm going to start working out two times a day."

Claire ignored her, too focused on Frieda, who was dishing out pieces of uber-crispy bacon.

"Anyway, school starts in an hour. You better go up in a few." Judi finished, finally realizing that her daughter was not listening. "Claire."

"Hmmm?" Claire was so immersed in her newfound wealth that she hardly bothered to respond. "Shi-shoot!" She muttered, as a particularly greasy piece of bacon left an angry grease mark on her new silk Equipment pajamas. It was shaped like a heart.

"That's a good omen." She muttered to herself, and couldn't help herself from beaming. It was written in the stars! The bacon gods had deemed that Claire Lyons was going to have a great first day at Preston-Tatum Secondary Day School.

"Language…" Judi sighed. "As I was saying, Phillip, will be waiting at eight forty-five to drive you to PTSD. My, that's a strange acronym for a school…" Judi trailed off, realizing Claire was once again zoned out, tapping an iMessage on her phone to Massie.

**Claire: School starts TODAY for me! Oh my god! U still have like two weeks right? **

The reply took a minute.

**Massie: Yeah… lol GTG shopping w/ girls**

Claire sat back, feeling a little shunned. She checked the clock. Shopping at eight, wait, time difference; nine o'clock? Maybe they were going to NYC, but still, it seemed a little odd. Even with her newfound glee, Claire suddenly longed for the familiar faces of the Pretty Committee.

"Where's Todd?" Claire probed, snatching another pancake of the gilded tray, noticing her little brother's absence. "Sleeping in." Judi replied, "He'll be riding to school with you, however."

"Moooom." Claire moaned. "Puh-lease, just buy another car or something! Don't make me ride with HIM."

"Claire." A look of distress crossed her mothers face, crisscrossing from one eye to one cheek. Claire parted her lips, thinking about suggesting a cc or two of Botox, and then thought better of it and clamped them shut.

"We will not be purchasing another car for Todd to ride in. Unless we suddenly gain three more children, the new car will be more than enough for both of you." Jay yawned. "Now, giddy up. You now have forty-two minutes to get ready."

Claire's cheeks flamed crimson, and she shot to her feet, murmuring a quick, "sorry." As she reversed her original trajectory, she took her time padding up the stairs, even peeking into a few of the many doors in the hallway. At a glance she spotted a ten-seat movie theater with a slide-down screen, a second kitchen, two luxurious basic guestrooms and a room with nothing but wall-to-wall bookcases. Her new home filled her with pride. Sure, it may not have been as "homey" as the guesthouse, or as "cute," but it was bigger and probably was worth like a billion more. And after all, in a material town like so, those were the only things that mattered… right?

Exactly forty-one minutes later, Claire was sitting in the Lyons's new car. Trying (and failing) not to repeat the events of her first trip in the Range Rover, she sat on her hands. Exactly thirty-two seconds later, those hands were roaming the roomy interior of the BMW x5, discovering treats such as candy-coated gourmet coconut chunks, and controls that shut off her compartment from Derrick Harrington's (the driver, not the ah-dorable seventh grader). Derrington had explained how the Lyon's had custom bought the x5, choosing to have the second row of seats in the back placed back to back with the driver compartment. This gave Claire Lyons the perfect view of Todd Lyons.

"Can you stop that?" She deadpanned; referring to the incessant sound of Rice Krispy's being deposited in his mouth. The crinkle was distracting her for her search of a house better than the Lyons estate, a search that _still_ proved to be futile.

"No." Todd retorted, sticking a slimy hand through his red hair.

"Miss Claire and Mister Todd. Where would you wish to be dropped off?" Derrington's voice floated backwards, and Claire instinctively hit the 'down' button on the barrier. Her jaw dropped. In only fifteen minutes, it seemed like the BMW had traveled to another world.

Preston-Tatum Secondary school stood in front of her.

* * *

**Ahhh! I'm sorry, please advert your eyes from this un beta-d distaster! Too late ;) **

**I don't even know why I'm posting this! But, enjoy :)**

**Yes, Claire is growing into a you-know-what... but who can blame her? Don't hesitate to re-read the previous chapters, placing your name in leu of Claire's... see? You would be like that too!**

**Leave me lots of reviews, I PROMISE to respond :) If I don't, remind me with a friendly follow up :)**

**sp**


	5. Start the clock

**It's been forever for this one, sorry! **

**I hate awkward chapters like this, so sorry!**

* * *

**4.**

**Preston-Tatum Secondary School; Big Lake, Illinois**

**February 1st**

**8:54 AM**

Claire's jaw dropped as her head whipped back and forth, surveying the school in front of her. If it was even _possible_, the great lawn seemed at least as big as OCD's, if not bigger. Right now though, it didn't seem occupied, as she only spotted little groups of parka-clad students scurrying along the pathways. The blizzard had started back up with a vengeance and no one wanted to be wet. Especially Claire.

Before jumping out of the car, Claire took her time zipping up the brand new black rabbit-fur trimmed North Face short bomber jacket she had bought the day before. Making sure her pin-straight blonde hair didn't get caught in the jacket proved to be a bit of a challenge, but she eventually forced it without too much damage. She lifted her knit scarf off of the table, knitted it thrice around her neck, and stuffed the ends into the front of the jacket. Now it _really_ was stifling hot in the car, and so she hurriedly put on her wide black Stella McCartney (hand-me-down from Massie) sunglasses and tossed the hood of the jacket over her head carelessly.

Todd had been ready for quite some time, and he was left staring at her as she finally stood up and moved towards the door.

Claire, at the last moment, remembered to thank her driver, something that Massie had always taken care off.

"Thanks Derring-..." She caught herself, giggling awkwardly at the memory. "Derrick. See you after school."

"Of course! I will be here around three o'clock, enjoy school. "

"Woah!" Todd cried as he tumbled out of the car. "This school's crazy. First of all, Briarwood & OCD started at eight-oh-five, and second of all, they got out at three-oh-five! That's seven hours! Here, it's like six!"

"That's an hour, Todd." Claire murmured condescendingly, checking her phone to see if Massie had responded to her latest message.

**Claire: Have fun shopping :) It's cold here! Save me :(**

Nope. But there was one new message from Cam. Her heart sped up a little, but then calmed down when she saw the message.

**Cam: Would you happen to have Olivia Ryan's cell number?**

**Claire: No.**

Pressing her thumb down on the period key with extra verve, Claire grimaced. Did he actually just ask her that? Whatever, she didn't care, right? She had a new life now, here in Chicago. And Cam Fisher was not a part of it, no matter how much she wanted him by her side.

By the time she looked up from her iPhone, Todd was bounding away towards the front doors of the school. With a sigh, Claire hurried after him, and barely managed to catch him before he reached the doors. He put a mitten on the door handle, and pulled. When that didn't work, he pushed. After a few more failed attempts, Claire tried, but the door was holding fast.

"Maybe we should go-" She started, before spotting the little red glowing light near the door. Stenciled in all-caps above it was:

_**Please scan student or faculty ID to enter. Other inquiries, please use buzzer to the**__**left.**_

Claire searched for the buzzer, and finally found it, crunching the frozen ice that had formed over it. It took a second before a women's voice echoed out of the doors.

"Preston-Tatum secondary day school, please state your business?"

"Uhm..." Claire glanced at Todd. "This is Claire Lyons and Todd Lyons, we're new, uh, students here."

"Hold, please." The women said, and the buzzer hummed to a stop. With a sharp click, the door in front of her glided open, and she quickly took the chance to escape into the warm dark mahogany paneled entryway. A straight hallway stretched on before them, with cream walls lined with various frames.

Taking their time, Claire and Todd analyzed the frames as they walked, seeing award after award. Honor rolls, cheer squads, dance teams, basketball; practically all of them first or first runner-up. No losers were displayed, so Claire immediately coined it the 'Winner Wall.' It seemed like a nice place to be, truthfully. It didn't seem like OCD's, which if by any chance you happened to make it on the honor roll (and your name wasn't Kristen Gregory), you were mocked.

At the end of the long hallway, the walls tapered away to reveal a big circular foyer (there really wasn't another word to describe it), leading to wide glass double-doors. To the side of the glass hung a sign proclaiming it to be the office.

Claire hung back, slightly scared to enter the doors. This was her second new school in a year. Should she be afraid?

Todd, not picking up on his sister's hesitation, barreled through the doors and came to a stop at the arched front desk. Three secretaries worked diligently behind it, typing and transferring phone calls. It took a few minutes before one of them looked up to see the pair in front of her.

"Do you need assistance?" She trilled, standing up with a smile.

"Um, yeah, I guess." Claire stuttered. "I'm Todd Lyons, and this is Claire Lyons. Wait. No. I'm Claire, and that's Todd."

"And?"

"We're new!" Todd piped up, bouncing on his heels.

"Oh, why of course!" As the thin woman stood up, she straightened her nametag, which read Ms. Kay. "I'll take you to your counselor right now, you're entering the lower school, correct?"

"He's in 6th, I'm in 7th." Claire clarified, looking around the office in wonder. At OCD, the office had seemed basic, boring, very gray, but here bright pops of colors lightened the same dark brown and cream color scheme that had been in the lobby.

"Oh, so the middle school as well." Ms. Kay tapped her lips. "Alright, Claire, I'll take you first. Your counselor is Ms. Grayson."

"Great." Claire's voice wavered, glancing back at Todd. Suddenly, now, she didn't want to leave him. He was her lifeline in this new school. But, Claire would have looked awfully pathetic if she voiced this concern, so she lifted her chin and followed the secretary as she led her throughout the halls of the office. Things were buzzing, multiple people seemed to be on the phone at once; everything seemed to be organized chaos. Claire couldn't decide if it was a good omen, or a bad one.

Ms. Grayson's office just so happened to be at the very back of the office. It faced out towards the back fields, and happened to have a wide picture window. Claire forgot to introduce herself for a second, entranced by the dance of the white snow outside.

"And this is?" Ms. Grayson's scratchy tones brought Claire back to the present.

"Claire. Claire Lyons." The secretary said brightly. "Well, I'll be going now, Claire. Ms. Grayson will help you further."

"Well, hello Claire." Ms. Grayson smiled. She was older, probably around thirty, and had numerous awards and psychology degrees hanging on her walls. A white iMac faced Claire as she slid into the middle of the distressed brown leather couch.

"Hi."

"So, as with all new students, we'd like to get you started with your classes almost immediately." Ms. Grayson typed something on her computer as an afterthought. "I have your schedule right now." She pushed a thick starchy piece of white paper towards Claire, who cautiously took it.

"I put you in relatively normal classes for now, as your OCD transcript has not arrived yet. However, we did get to look at your old school information, and were able to pull your other classes from that."

Claire glanced over her schedule. It seemed very basic; first period: Science, second: Spanish, third: English, fourth: Social Studies, fifth: Pre-Algebra, sixth: P.E., seventh: drama.

"Oh, I like drama!" Claire enthused, suddenly happy. She probably would have preferred P.E. last, but she would take it.

"Alrighhhhhtttttt, I have a student council member waiting in the main office to help you around to your classes, she has the exact same schedule as you, so possibly that will be an easy friend."

"Of course." Claire's heartbeat seemed to quicken. Was she really getting started this quickly?

"Well, off you go, then. Have a wonderful day!"

"I sincerely hope so." Claire murmured, slowly rising to her feet.

"What, dear?"

"I will!" Claire fake-smiled. "Thanks for all your help!" She took a step forward, took a deep breath, and stepped forward again. And again. And again.

Six hours to make an impression. Hopefully a good one this time. Or else- she didn't really want to think about going through Westchester-like hell again. Hopefully, the alphas here wouldn't be as ice-queen-like as Massie had been. Maybe they would be more pleasant.

Yeah right.

* * *

**What did you think? Should Zach make an appearance next chapter? What about the resident alpha? Who do you think Claire's guide will be? **

**Sorry for all the questions, haha. Anyway, it's too late after the last chapter to do review replies, but I'll promise to reply to reviews as I get them this time! **

**xxx**

**splendeur**

**(p.s. : If you haven't already, go to forums - book/clique - "exchanges", and check out the June Fic Contest. We need more participants!)**


	6. PTSD (&) OCD

**un-beta'd**

**6.**

**Preston-Tatum Secondary School; Big Lake, Illinois**

**February 1st**

**9:05 AM**

"And _this_ is the library!" Piper cooed. "My absolute favorite place in the school."

"Oh." Claire wasn't quite sure how to respond to the statement. It was just a library, wasn't it?

"Look!" Piper lunged forward, barely touching her fingertips to a smooth black square in the wall. In a millisecond, the black suddenly came alive, with a florescent pink line dashing across the cover, reading the lines on her palm.

"Pooper Jones." A pleasant female voice announced. "Welcome."

Claire openly snickered, covering her mouth with a dainty hand after she realized Piper had reddened.

"Oh." Piper sighed. "You see, one of the guys, Connor Holloway, is the son of one of the board members. They basically let him do whatever he wants, including change our system names."

"That makes sense." Claire tittered, as she pressed her palm flat against the black. It flashed green.

"Unidentified."

"So, see, this is what we have to do." Piper led the way through the doors, holding them open for the blonde behind her.

Once inside, Claire marveled at the entire room. The cream ceilings were high, domed, and from which hung at least a thousand gauzy white globes. Light reflected through them from the skylights, sending dancing white circles spinning randomly across the hardwood floor. In the very center of the room, a raised square platform held two desks pointed in opposite directions. Two women (Claire presumed them to be librarians) tapped away at two angled iMacs, occasionally glancing up to see if anyone was in the vicinity.

"Piper! Come, come. Who is this?" One of the women, a late-thirties-looking blonde with a lace collared blouse spoke up.

"This is Claire Lyons, mom." Piper smiled. "She's new." _Mom?_

"Hi Claire!" The woman stretched out her palm to shake. "Welcome to Preston-Tatum Secondary! Is there anything I can do for you?"

Claire looked at Piper expectantly.

"She needs a system entry."

"Oh, alright." The woman -her name-tag read "Mary"- busied herself with pulling a thick cream envelope from under her desk. "Anything else?"

"Can you change my system name back to normal, again?" Piper rolled her eyes. "Connor changed it again."

"Of course, Pip. The computers are straight back, Claire. Have a nice day at school!"

Claire meandered off, eager to escape the mother-daughter bonding episode. Surely Piper would find her in a few minutes, right? Well, it's not like she would really mind if the girl got lost: she was so not A-list. Sure, she was pretty enough, and maybe if she got a few light highlights in her nearly-black witchy hair she would be passable, but the clichéd navy schoolgirl skirt and the white long-sleeved v-neck had to go. It looked like a sub-par made-in-china required uniform. A real sin in an anti-uniform school.

After passing about twenty high mahogany bookshelves, she reached a small circular area with about ten desks arranged in a back to back. Two flat silver iMacs sat on each one, while two tan leather armchairs faced the computers. Already, this school seemed ten times better than OCD, even with just the library alone.

Claire eagerly set down her white leather Prada tote, and sat in one of the chairs as she slid open the envelope. Inside, it listed directions to set up a school account, and where to sign up for her school-issued iPad.

She managed to get most of the steps done by the time Piper showed up, choosing **clairebear** as her username and **orlando** as her password for the school account. Claire, after a brief decision-making session, had chosen a white iPad, which was to be delivered to her estate by five that night.

"Hey!" Piper announced from behind, making Claire jump. "First period's almost over. Which means we missed Mr. Byrely's speech. Thank me for that later."

Claire smiled weakly, focused on rooting around in her bag for her schedule.

"So, spanish next?"

"Yup." Piper's hazel eyes lit up. "You're going to love Mr. Dale."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, it was apparent that Claire did not love Mr. Dale, and probably never would. Not only did he interrogate her (in spanish!) when she walked in, but he seemed hell-bent on embarrassing her at every moment.

"Claire! Can you please tell the class how to say 'Hello' in spanish?"

"Um, ho-la?" Finally, one she knew.

"Class!" Mr. Dale turned away. "What's one thing we never do in spanish?"

"Pronounce the H!" All of the fifteen or so students chorused, even Piper.

"So, Claire. It's not Hohhhh-lahhh-" he spoke in an exaggerated american accent. "It's O-la! Class?"

"Hola!" Everyone said with equal verve, not even wavering when Claire sent them a glare. No one seemed to respect her power here. Yet.

* * *

Periods three and four didn't get any better. At all.

In english, they were apparently starting to read "To Kill a Mockingbird," which Claire had the unfortunate duty of reading the summary of.

"-american liter-a-toor"

"Literature, Claire. Not Liter-a-toor." The teacher had re-butted, among laughter from the class. "Now what is one of the themes you would guess that this book would exhibit, from reading the back, Claire?"

"Um, death?" More laughter.

"Yes, but deeper?"

"Death of the main character...s?"

"No, Claire."

In history, the minute they walked into Mr. Gryson's navy-blue painted classroom, they were given a test. It wasn't to be counted towards Claire's grade, after all, she was new, but she 'should know or get to know the subjects for optimal success in his classroom.'

Completely guessing on all the answers but one, Claire was the first to hand hers in, which meant hers was the first graded.

"Claire? May I speak with you?" Mr. Gryson had said at the end of the period. In his hand, he held her test, pockmarked with at least a dozen red checkmarks. At least he had the decency not to embarrass her in front of the class.

"I want you to go home, and read chapters 1-14. As soon as possible. We'll begin on chapter 15 soon, and if you don't know simple facts pre-french and indian war, this is going to be a struggle for you."

_Day two: A struggle, it will be._

* * *

**Requested update! **

**So, yeah, this story is probably going to move slowly, but I know where I want to go with it, kind-of. **

**Next chapter: introduction to the ******** *******. **

**sp**


End file.
